State-sponsored terrorism used to be a rather simple affair, where a state would order its military (or other covert armed group) to carry out terrorist acts against a civilian population, domestic or foreign. Over the course of the last 20 years or so however, state sponsored terrorism as practiced by Western 'democracies' has evolved into a much more convoluted and complex operation.

Take 'al-qaeda' for example. The best way to understand the true role of 'al-qaeda', is to first understand the role played by the Soviet Union and 'Communism' as popularised by Western governments, because 'Islamic terrorism' has clearly replaced the 'Communist threat'.

The main problem with Communism is that it never actually existed in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a basic dictatorship. But Communism and the Soviets were promoted by Western governments as an ideology and an enemy against which the West 'had to fight' to 'protect' the capitalist freedom loving people of the World. This was the rationale, the casus belli, that was used to justify American interventionist policy (land and resource grabs) around the world. But behind it all, was, as the saying goes, naked bloody imperialism.

With the Soviet Union and Communism gone, and the US and Western democracies having largely succeeded in their goal to militarily, and then economically, dominate as much of the globe as possible, a new enemy was needed that could be used to target the specific areas (or countries) of the world where the US and Western 'democracies' did not yet enjoy full control. This is where modern 'Islamic terrorism' and 'al-qaeda' came in, or rather, the point at which modern 'Islamic terrorism' and 'al-qaeda' were created by the US government (according to Hilary Clinton) out of the debris of the Soviet-US (proxy) war in Afghanistan.

'Al-qaeda' was the name given to a group of Islamic fighters trained and armed by the CIA to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan in the late '70s and early '80s. When they were no longer useful in that role, and the Soviet Union collapsed, 'al-qaeda' was transformed into an enemy of the USA (and 'Western Democracy', just for good measure) and blamed for the 9/11 attacks. Since 9/11, 'al-qaeda' has been used by Western 'Democracies' as a cover for CIA covert operations (terror attacks) and to justify US military or NATO invasions of, or bombing campaigns against, any nation that has shown signs of non-cooperation with the Western elite's desire for global economic hegemony and control over the global population.

The irony in all of this is that, in its most recent incarnation, 'al-qaeda' has come full circle, and is now being used in the same way it was originally used in Afghanistan against the Soviets - as 'our terrorists' fighting for American and Western government and corporate interests in Syria. '9/11 be-damned' is the idea, it seems.

"The Syrian rebels would be immeasurably weaker today without al-Qaeda in their ranks. By and large, Free Syrian Army (FSA) battalions are tired, divided, chaotic, and ineffective. Feeling abandoned by the West, rebel forces are increasingly demoralized as they square off with the Assad regime's superior weaponry and professional army. Al-Qaeda fighters, however, may help improve morale. The influx of jihadis brings discipline, religious fervor, battle experience from Iraq, funding from Sunni sympathizers in the Gulf, and most importantly, deadly results. In short, the FSA needs al-Qaeda now."

So who are these al-qaeda operatives leading the fight for 'freedom' in Syria? They're the same people who NATO used to overthrow Gaddafi last year in the 'people's revolution' that resulted in the massacring of 40,000 Libyan civilians and the imposition of a fundamentalist Islamic government, and they're now led by some of the same thugs that the CIA recruited in Afghanistan 40 years ago.

Earlier this year, I wrote about these two men, and you might like to re-read the pertinent parts of that article to get an idea of what these two are all about.

As already noted, the Western media has been playing a major role in the distortion of facts and the peddling of outright lies about the Syrian 'civil war'. That Western journalists, especially during 'war time', engage in outright lies and fabrications is nothing new. But life on planet earth at the end of the American Empire seems to have created the conditions where there is no limit to the extent of mainstream media duplicity or what they expect the public to swallow.

The man in the center with the hat is the aforementioned LIFG leader and 'al-qaeda' commander, Mahdi al-Harati. The man to his left in the camouflage gear is the aforementioned LIFG leader and 'al-qaeda' commander, Abdul Hakim Belhaj. The man in the blue flak jacket is none other than Sunday Times photo-journalist Paul Conroy. The picture was taken sometime in 2011 as NATO bombed Libya. After Libya, Conroy went to Syria to engage in the dissemination of lies and propaganda against the Syrian government. On 22 February 2012 while he was in Homs, Conroy was injured when the building he was in was allegedly shelled by Syrian government forces. American journalist Marie Colvin who worked for the British Sunday times was killed in the attack along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik. Conroy has a military background and is almost certainly an MI6 agent. The allegation that Syrian government forces shelled the building he was in, is less certain. Why?

In June 2012, Channel 4 News chief correspondent Alex Thomson was in Syria reporting on events there when, he claims, a group from the Free Syrian Army tried to lead him and his colleagues into a trap so they would be killed by government forces, to discredit the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

'Suddenly four men in a black car beckon us to follow. We move out behind. We are led another route. Led in fact, straight into a free-fire zone. Told by the Free Syrian Army to follow a road that was blocked off in the middle of no-man's land.

'At that point there was the crack of a bullet and one of the slower three-point turns I've experienced. We screamed off into the nearest side-street for cover. Another dead-end. There was no option but to drive back out on to the sniping ground and floor it back to the road we'd been led in on.

'Predictably the black car was there which had led us to the trap. They roared off as soon as we re-appeared.

'I'm quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus.'

So, you get the idea of what this 'Syrian revolution' is all about and who is running it and how. And you understand the extent of US government hubris when they calmly accuse Iran of setting up pro-Assad militia in Syria. Can you understand why, in February this year, 'al-qaeda' leader Ayman al-Zawahri called on Muslims in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to join the uprising against Assad's "pernicious, cancerous regime." And can you wrap your head around the strategy behind the US government urging more US and NATO help for the 'rebels' lest 'al-qaeda' fill in a future power vacuum? If you can, can you explain it to me?

In the meantime, here are some useful 'soft-ball' questions to ask friends and family about the Syrian situation, assuming, of course, that your friends and family are even interested in what is going on in the world around them.

If the US and Western governments are really concerned about radical Islam and Islamic terrorism:

Why are they attempting to depose a largely secular government that has enjoyed relatively good relations with them?

Why are they trying to demonise and oust Assad who comes from the Alawite sect, a form of Shi'a Islam that embraces elements similar to Christian theology?

Why are they choosing to support a group of hired thugs who want to impose a radical Islamic caliphate over as much of the Middle East and North Africa as possible and who have pledged their allegiance to 'al-qaeda'?

Despite the fact that I've been trying to highlight the lies and deceptions of big government for years, I still find it fascinating that so many people can believe the official 'war on terror' narrative while simultaneously condoning the US (and European) governments' funding and training of 'al-qaeda'. After all, these are the ideological brethren of the 9/11 hijackers and the people against whom the US government has been waging a war for the past 11 years. These are the terrorists that have posed such a threat to Western society that many civil liberties in America and Europe have been done away with in order to 'keep us safe'. These are the people who have, as mentioned by the CFR article, killed and wounded thousands of US troops in Iraq. Then again, the complex mental gymnastics that people must perform in convincing themselves that the official 'war on terror' narrative is true seems to induce some kind of cognitive impairment which, in turn, seems to result in an impressive ability to accept increasingly flagrant absurdities as truth.

An established web-based essayist and print author, Quinn has been writing incisive editorials for Sott.net for over 10 years. His articles have appeared on many alternative news sites and he has been interviewed on several internet radio shows and has also appeared on Iranian Press TV. His articles can also be found on his personal blog JoeQuinn.net.

Reader Comments

Joe wrote: "Then again, the complex mental gymnastics that people must perform in convincing themselves that the official 'war on terror' narrative is true seems to induce some kind of cognitive impairment which, in turn, seems to result in an impressive ability to accept increasingly flagrant absurdities as truth."

I think a big problem in how all this is being perceived by the average person has to do with apathy and the dumbing down of society through TV shows, movies, video games. Basically getting people to not think about anything important or to exert themselves thinking about anything more than they have to. That, coupled with the fact of people just living their dead-end jobs 9-5 and trying to make ends meet, people are basically lulled to think what the government/MSM/TV has to tell them because they haven't been thinking for themselves for so long. They've forgotten how to.

I think that is a big part of it, apathy or indifference, is truly a killer, it takes much effort to struggle through that lie; there is no way to do it, but through pushing, at least that's the solution I've found.

true, but I honestly do think that when people believe a lie, when for whatever reason they choose a lie, they 'lose' some of their ability to think clearly and spot the next lie that comes along. I think there's a scientific (medical research) paper somewhere that says as much.

I agree with the concept that people are absorbed in their own lives. I also think of the anonymity of the herd member. As on the Serengetti, the herd member sees the daily carnage, but is isolated from it by the sheer numbers of unaffected herd members. The average person thinks these events can't affect them, must by definition happen to someone else, and since they are not on the scene to see for themselves, accept the word of "journalists", who are thought to somehow care more about the realities on this planet and earn their living by traveling to such hotspots to do the greater public a service describing what is happening. Greater the shame of the equivocating journalist than the average sheeple.

STS tunnel vision, which is shared by all participants as they encourage the general public to clap along with these cheerleaders. The MSM is finding exactly what they are looking for... simply amazing, a self-fulfilling prophecy of propaganda as they lure everyone watching to sleep, including themselves it seems. Perhaps a global hypnotism session? It is getting rather bizarre, though interesting as one by one falls under the spell. Turkey seems to be falling into the trap rather quickly lately as well. [Link]
I don't think the masses here in the States actually think about the 'war on terrorism' or much anything else other than their personal situation, and not many are actually affected by these wars that never end. 'Out of sight, out of mind'. Maybe one reason so many returning soldiers are committing or considering suicide is part of the spell or program?

"the complex mental gymnastics that people must perform in convincing themselves that the official 'war on terror' narrative is true seems to induce some kind of cognitive impairment which, in turn, seems to result in an impressive ability to accept increasingly flagrant absurdities as truth."

People are afraid to confront the ramifications of this truth; the government often lies to cover it's bad actions. Big government tells big lies. If people were to accept this, the game would stop and the government would eventually topple of it's own ineptitude. Otherwise, as one big lie leads to another, and one lie is used for the premise for the next, absurdities abound.

Thanks for this essay, Joe, the softball questions wil be useful for some of my head in the sand friends.

I liked this from your previous comment
"Greater the shame of the equivocating journalist than the average sheeple."

But, in reality, those journalists are "blackmailed" into doing what they do. They too have bills, families, and other concerns (to stay alive?).

I guess you can say that the universe balances itself, and they DO have a higher responsibility to tell the truth.

However, they still live in the world of forced choices, as most of us do. They too are convinced that this war, even manipulated is for "good".

Now, I would think when it comes to the billionaires that run the corporations, media, and politics- they have no excuse to do what they do. They are doing this, even if it is not a really forced choice. Does it matter that they can only afford 3 luxury houses and 1 boat instead of 5 houses and 3 boats?

That's where I see psychopathy as something that will go on whether those journalists agree or not. If they don't, 100 others will be there to apply for that opening, ready to sell out to feed their families or to survive. Remember, this economy does not allow for much opportunity for working stiffs like them and us.

I'm not excusing this behavior, but understanding a saying that I have heard "in the hood"- "Don't hate the playa, hate the game".

Now if we could stop the game, that's like the saying "You can't fight city hall".

I just don't know how these people can stand up, facing being homeless, and fight for truth if they don't see an alternative to support them when they are unemployed - or charged with "terrorism".

I would strongly suggest that all of you posters purchase a copy of THE WAVE #8: DEBUGGING THE UNIVERSE, from Red Pill Press.
Laura goes into a detailed study of how our minds become entrained to believing lies, starting in infancy.
Personally, when I initially read The Wave series, none of it made sense because my neural pathways were so corrupted and entrained by The Matrix. It actually took 3-4 readings of this and other recommended readings, too numerous to mention here, before the fog started to lift and I could grok some semblance of reality.
Imo, this book is a critical read for anyone who is committed to freeing their minds and learning the truth of the situation on planet Earth.
Good article Joe. Keep 'em coming.